Serve Spicy Cheese at Your Big Game Party

If you’re looking for something different to serve for this year’s Super Bowl, consider spicy cheeses.

Peppers of all sorts are becoming a popular ingredient in many cheeses, from mild and sweet to flaming hot. Whether you’re adding it to a favorite recipe or serving it on a snack tray, here are some suggestions.

GO EASY
We’ll start with the mild. That’s where I recommend an old standby like Pepper Jack. Or try a sweet chili or chipotle cheese. Chipotle cheese is spicy and smoky, and it pairs well with your favorite snack sausage.

Here are other ingredients and cheeses to look for as you shop for a mellower spice:

bacon jalapeno

sriracha

roasted corn poblano

sweet chili

mango jalapeno

chipotle and onion

GET HOTTER
If you’re game for more of a kick, you can find cheeses made with habanero, jalapeno or cayenne peppers. Other hotter cheeses include ingredients like:

jalapeno & habanero

habanero hot pepper

habanero garlic

tomato cayenne

habanero, cayenne and jalapeno

EXTREME HEAT
And to impress true spice lovers, I recommend ghost pepper cheese. Ghost peppers, a.k.a. Bhut Jolokia, originated in Northeast India and are the hottest pepper known to humankind.

There is a growing variety of cheese and pepper parings. Hot cheeses have been gaining in popularity—by 5.3% in the last year. Peppers taste good with almost any cheese that has a balanced milky, buttery and mild cheese flavor. Look for your favorite heat level in Monterey Jack, Gouda, mild cheddar and Colby to name a few.

Want to know more about why dairy goes with spice? Check out this post on the scientific reason milk can be the antidote to spicy foods.